The Navy has appointed its first two female officers to command fast attack craft, as it looks to expand female presence on vessels in operation, officials said Monday.“We’ve finalized a plan to name female captains to command our Chamsuri boat patrolling the South Sea,” a high-ranking military source said, referring to a 150-ton patrol vessel. “Last Thursday, we named two female officers on a trial basis.”According to the source, Adm. Choi Yun-hee, the Chief of Naval Operations, briefed Defense

HWASEONG, South Korea, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A 19-year-old marine corporal surnamed Kim was sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for killing four fellow marines in a shooting rampage on Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, last July.A marine private found guilty of assisting Kim in the July 4 ra

South Korean military officials are being targeted by hackers using e-mails with North Korea-related attached files.According to local news reports, South Korean military officials have been receiving e-mails containing attached files with titles related to North Korea or Seoul-Washington relations.One e-mail contains a file with a title that suggests it is an analysis of North Korea’s New Year’s editorial.Another appears to be from a U.S. military officer, and contains a hacking program in a fi

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. Department of Defense assured Sunday that it will maintain “operationally resilient and politically sustainable” troops in South Korea under a new long-term defense strategy.“We will continue to maintain a force posture that is geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politically sustainable,” a department official said in a reply to Yonhap News Agency’s inquiry over the possibility of a troop level cut.The U.S. has around 28,000 soldiers in Sou

The government has set in motion three large defense contract projects with a combined value of more than 10.6 trillion won ($9.1 billion). On Friday the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA announced the acquisition plans for the AH-X project and the maritime operations helicopter project.In addition, the DAPA plans to make the announcement for the third part of the F-X project late next week.The deadline for the bids for the two helicopter projects are May 10. All three projects

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Monday that the state was partially responsible for the death of a soldier surnamed Lee who was pushed to suicide after being abused by other soldiers. In passing the ruling, the court ordered the government to pay Lee’s family 60 million won ($51,500) in compensation. The court sided with Lee’s family, saying that a lack of measures to address Lee’s psychological status contributed partially to his suicide.“Senior soldiers repeated profanities, verbal a

The U.S. Department of Defense assured Sunday that it will maintain "operationally resilient and politically sustainable" troops in South Korea under a new long-term defense strategy."We will continue to maintain a force posture that is geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politic

The military will begin looking into preparing countermeasures to increasing naval powers in South Korea‘s neighbors and potential territorial claims that may ensue, officials said Saturday.A military official said the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts late last year earmarked 500 million won ($430,660) for the related research. The official said it will focus on responding to China‘s and Japan’s growing naval power by strengthening South Korea‘s own naval forces in th

The military will begin looking into preparing countermeasures to increasing naval powers in South Korea's neighbors and potential territorial claims that may ensue, officials said Saturday.A military official said the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts late last year earma

South Korea's financial watchdog said Friday it has asked police to investigate market rumors about an explosion at North Korea's nuclear facilities to find out whether speculators intentionally spread them to take profits.Korea's stocks and currency sharply fell on Friday, hit by market talks there

HELSINKI (AFP) ― Sixty-nine Patriot missiles impounded in Finland after being found on a merchant vessel in mid-December were headed for South Korea, the Finnish government said Wednesday, granting their transit through Finnish territory.“The missiles in question had been sold to the Republic of Korea by Germany,” the government said in a statement, adding that it had granted a license to Seoul’s “Defense Acquisition Program Administration to transit through Finnish territory 69 Patriot missiles

Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Defense Udi Shani came to Korea on Thursday to discuss issues regarding the T-50 advanced trainer jet.Shani’s visit comes on the heels of his visit to Italy, Korea’s competitor for a lucrative defense contract estimated to be worth $1 billion. Israel has been weighing the Korean-made T-50 against Italy’s M-346 to replace the U.S.-made A-4 Skyhawk advanced trainer jet. While the Israeli defense ministry is said to be planning to make the decision within we

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is seeking U.S. cooperation to ensure safe shipment of missiles that were detained in Finland, government sources said Thursday.One source said a British-registered ship, named Thor Liberty, has been authorized to leave the port in Kotka, southern Finland.The sh

South Korean military to enhance readiness on border and improve conditions for conscriptsThe South Korean military has included cyberspace in its comprehensive defense plan, the Ministry of National Defense said in its annual report on Wednesday.Meanwhile the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs revealed that it is reviewing plans to introduce a quota in the civil service for those who have served military duty, as a possible alternative to the points system that gives ex-draftees an advan

The U.S. Forces Korea commander on Tuesday extended the off-base curfew on military personnel until further notice.The new curfew begins Jan. 7 at 1 a.m. The hours of the curfew are from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. throughout the week. Previously, the curfew had been enforced from midnight until 5 a.m. on weekdays and from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends and public holidays. The U.S. military introduced a curfew on its members on Oct. 7 following a series of serious crimes, including the rape of a high school